Seafood is Alaska's top export by far, usually topping $3 billion in sales each year to 120 countries around the world, and constituting 55 percent of our nation's total seafood exports.
Credit for the state's export sales goes mostly to the international program run by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), which operates eight regional offices in Japan, China, Brazil, London, Spain, France, Germany and Eastern Europe. Its overseas marketing reps work under contract with ASMI to coordinate hundreds of seafood promotions a year to build the Alaska brand.
"We work closely with overseas trade groups, food service and HRIs (hotels, restaurants, institutions)," said Hannah Lindoff, ASMI international director. "We also do promotions with chefs, schools, and caterers, and some programs have advertising elements as well."
China is Alaska's largest seafood export market in terms of volume (35 percent) and value (27 percent). The fish isn't ending up on Chinese dinner plates, though, as up to 90 percent is sold to secondary processors that send finished products to other markets around the world.
Japan is Alaska's largest and most-established market, Lindoff said, and the bulk of ASMI's budget goes to maintaining customers there.
"Alaska is facing lots of competition and a declining consumer base in Japan," she added.
Europeans, especially the United Kingdom, rank second as Alaska seafood customers.
"Alaska salmon has been going to the U.K. for over 100 years and canned salmon is a traditional product for them. It's part of their culture, but it is a declining market," Lindoff said.
Alaska's newest marketing program is in Brazil where ASMI has been able to capitalize on its Japan connection.
"Brazil has the largest population of expatriate Japanese in the world, so we already have a population there familiar with Alaska seafood. We do several trade shows in Brazil, including a Japan Trade Show every year," Lindoff said.
Spain is another new and growing buyer.
"This is a country where Alaska salmon is competing to be seen as better quality over farmed fish," Lindoff said, adding that ASMI has taken advantage of a big downturn in farmed Chilean production due to a deadly fish virus.
"The growing trend for sushi and Asian cuisine also has really helped Alaska salmon gain a foothold in Spain," she said, "and it is a traditional market for Alaska cod."
ASMI also is trying to expand the brand in Eastern Europe to make up for losses from an ongoing Russian embargo on U.S. seafood, by building a presence in Latvia, Estonia, Romania and Ukraine.
It's a tough go, Lindoff admits, because many nations simply are not familiar with Alaska or its seafood.
"We think of ourselves as having the greatest seafood in the world, but we are only 2 percent of the world supply, and we are up against a lot of competition," she said. "Especially in Europe, where Norway can provide a lot of farmed fish and they have a very aggressive marketing agency. It's not a fair fight."
Norway's annual marketing budget tops $50 million, derived from a small tax on seafood exports.That compares to an ASMI budget of less than $7 million from a mix of grants and federal dollars. The state contributes $1 million to ASMI's overall budget of roughly $22 million, of which $16.5 million is paid by the seafood industry. The state plans to zero out its funds to ASMI in the coming fiscal year.
Another marketing challenge: a limited awareness that Alaska is part of the United States.
"It wasn't until Sarah Palin was running for vice president in 2008 that some people learned that Alaska was part of the U.S," Lindoff said with a laugh. She added that the popularity of the "Deadliest Catch" television show also "did tremendous things for creating awareness of Alaska seafood."
More recently, that recognition has increased buyer interest because Alaska is regarded as a source of clean and wholesome food.
"Especially in countries like China where they have a lot of food contamination problems, Alaska seafood is seen as a trusted source," Lindoff said. "It's definitely an advantage having a clean and pure environment."
Other sales benefits come from the use of eCommerce, especially in China.
"Our marketing dollars can go much farther online. It allows us to widely advertise Alaska's core messages and we've seen millions of dollars in sales through eCommerce in China," Lindoff said, adding that the same strategy is paying off with canned salmon in the U.K.
Overseas marketing reps from eight countries are scheduled to arrive in Kodiak on Aug. 7 to tour processing plants, visit a remote salmon fishing site and hold brainstorming sessions.
"Visiting Alaska is always one of our most powerful tools," Lindoff said. "It's great when you have limited time and budget to go to a place like Kodiak where you get so much of the seafood industry in one place."
Bringing in the chill
Bristol Bay fishermen are chilling their fish like never before, and they are setting up to do even more.
Two former longtime Bay fishermen are converting a 150-foot helicopter logging barge into a floating fish processor with plans to operate it next summer on the Ugashik River, 85 miles from the nearest processing plants at Naknek.
Co-owner Ben Blakey said the barge will freeze up to 300,000 pounds of whole sockeye salmon per day and employ about 20 people, compared to the 200 or more needed to run a shore-based processor.
"There are a lot of communities in Alaska that can't support a full-time processor with that many people because they don't have enough volume," Blakey told KCAW in Sitka. "If an outfit like this can get by with less overhead and lower labor costs, they might be able to park it in front of an isolated area and process the fish at a more effective cost."
The refurbished four-decker will provide ice and help reduce the time the salmon spend in the fish hold before delivery, especially for the many boats that don't have onboard chilling systems, said co-owner Pat Glaab, who built the fish processing plant at Leader Creek and Silver Bay Seafoods at Naknek. He said the revamped barge is his 11th fish processor.
"There's nobody in the world who wouldn't say that there isn't a portion of that (Bristol) Bay fleet that doesn't have the ability to take care of this fish properly. We feel this thing will fill that need," he said.
Glaab and Blakey operate as Northline Seafoods out of Sitka's industrial park, where they are testing out the revamped plant on pinks this summer. If it's successful, the duo plans to build at least three more brand-new barges at a cost of about $5 million each.
Laine Welch is a Kodiak-based commercial fishing columnist. Contact her at msfish@alaskan.com.